1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning textile machines, said device being arranged for movement along the machine and having an overhead air-blowing arrangement provided with air connections, to which connections at least one vertically disposed air hose with openings directed on to the machine is connected.
2. Prior Art
Known cleaning devices for cleaning textile machines are normally provided with a blower housing designed to travel on rails above the textile machines. Extending from the housing on either side of the textile machine are normally two vertically disposed air hoses, one hose being used as a blower and the other as a suction hose in order to suck away the yarn flick. In this way several textile machines arranged one after the other, to form a bank or a row of machines, can be cleaned using one and the same device.
When the textile machines concerned are spinning machines, a yarn-attaching machine is provided for each spinning machine, which yard-attaching machine travels along the two sides of the bank of textile machines. This yarn-attaching machine projects out of the side zones of the textile machines.
It is well-known to arrange the hoses of the cleaning device at such an interval from the sides of the textile machines that no change between air hose and the yarn-attaching machine can occur. The space between the air hoses and each side of the textile machine, however, is then so large as to adversely affect the cleaning efficiency of the device. Again, frequently, the mutual space between the textile machines is insufficient to allow the hoses to be arranged in the indicated manner.
To avoid these disadvantages, it is well-known to connect the cleaning device to the yarn-attaching machine, so as to obtain a single traversing unit. This solution, however, has the disadvantage that the cleaning device can then only clean on one side of the textile machine, which results in a not inconsiderable increase in investment costs.
As will be apparent from the aforegoing, there is a need for a textile machine cleaning device which can traverse a textile machine or a bank of such machines independently of the yarn-attaching machine or of any other textile machine servicing apparatus, which will not impede the passage of said yarn-attaching machine or said apparatus along said machine or bank of machines, and which will efficiently clean said textile machines.
3. General Discussion of Present Invention
Accordingly, this invention consists in a textile machine cleaning device which is movable along a textile machine and which has at least one air hose, wherein said device comprises hose-moving means for automatically moving said air hose between a first position in which it is operative to effect cleaning of said textile machine and a second position in which it permits the unimpeded passage of any further device moving along said textile machine in the movement path of said cleaning device.